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The next steps for Brierley Town Council

Following the decision to abolish Brierley Town Council, Barnsley Council is currently reviewing the next steps of the process.

A report went to Cabinet this week to look at how the town council’s assets and services will transfer to BMBC and what will happen to services currently provided by the town council.

BMBC has previously agreed to maintain services for Brierley and Grimethorpe residents, where this is at no extra cost to BMBC, therefore it’s inevitable that changes will have to be made.

The aim is to make the transition as smooth as possible, with minimal disruption, but it is likely that residents will experience significant changes, as some services will cease to be delivered whilst others are reduced. This will put this area of the borough on a similar footing to those areas that don’t have parish or town councils.

The Leader of the council, Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton CBE, said: “We are working hard to make sure that the effect of the abolition of Brierley Town Council has a minimal impact on its residents and the community. The safety and concern of local residents is a key focus; we understand this decision will affect them, but they supported the decision to abolish the town council following the community vote in July 2015. Where it’s at no additional cost to BMBC, we will try to keep buildings open and up and running. It’s likely that grounds maintenance operations such as grass cutting, fly tipping, litter picking and hedge cutting will reduce and these services will be less frequent, and the terms on which users currently use buildings and facilities may well have to change.”

Assessments are still underway to understand the full implications of land assets that will transfer to Barnsley Council and different options are being explored.

The council is working towards a plan to achieve the best possible outcome for all concerned, whilst aiming to prevent incurring any financial costs for the facilities and services that remain.

Barnsley Council’s Human Resource Service is supporting Brierley Town Council to deal with their employees who will become redundant as a result of the abolition.

The abolition of the town council and the civil parish will take effect from 1 April 2016.